Best folding bikes of 2026

Every pick at a glance

Every model in that table folds without tools and fits in a car boot. What separates them is how small the package gets, what it weighs when you lift it, and how it rides once you unfold it.

Which brand of folding bike is actually the best to buy?

Brompton is the best folding bike brand if the folded package is what matters, and Dahon is the best brand for value. Tern builds the best-riding folders and the best electric one, and ZiZZO is the only budget brand worth considering. Those four, plus Lectric at the cheap end of the electric market, cover nearly every folding bike worth buying in the US, and they solve the same problem in different ways.

Brompton: the fold is the product

A Brompton folds in three places, and the rear wheel swings under the frame rather than sitting beside it. That is why a 16-inch-wheel bike with a normal-length wheelbase ends up as a 23 × 22.2 × 10.6 inch package that stands up on its own casters. The non-electric range runs from the $1,300 A Line with three hub gears to the $3,550 P Line, which swaps the rear frame to titanium and the fork to carbon to drop to 24.1 lb.

What you pay for is the fold, the London-built steel frame and the fact that Brompton still stocks spares for bikes it built decades ago. What you give up is ride comfort on bad surfaces and money. Sixteen-inch wheels transmit every crack in the road, and the cheapest Brompton at $1,300 still costs $351 more than a well-equipped Dahon.

Tern: the best ride

Tern uses 20-inch and 451 mm wheels, longer wheelbases and stiffer frame joints, so its bikes feel like small bicycles rather than shopping trolleys. The Verge X11 at 22.5 lb is the clear performance pick, the Link C8 puts the same frame philosophy in a $925 commuter, and the Vektron line is the best-engineered electric folder on the market. Folding takes about 10 seconds on every model we compared.

The cost of that ride quality is size. A Tern folds flat, roughly 15.5 inches thick and 31 to 34 inches long, which is fine for a car boot or a cupboard and awkward on a crowded train where you need a cube that fits between your feet.

Dahon: the value play

Dahon has been building folders since 1982 and sells more of them than anyone. The formula is simple: an aluminium frame, 20-inch wheels, real Shimano gearing and a complete bike with rack and fenders. The Mariner D8 II at $949 is the sweet spot, and the SUV D6 at $599 gets you into a 20-inch folder for less than a mid-range smartphone.

The compromise shows up in weight and finish. A Mariner is 27.9 lb, the hinge is good but not Brompton-good, and the components are chosen to hit a price. For a bike that is ridden daily and stored indoors, none of that matters much.

ZiZZO: the budget exception

Most sub-$700 folders are heavy steel bikes with no-name parts. ZiZZO's Liberté Plus is the exception: an aluminium frame and fork, quick-release wheels, a Shimano Altus 8-speed drivetrain and 23 lb on the scale, for $650. It is the cheapest bike here that is genuinely pleasant to ride to a station.

Be clear about what it is not. There are V-brakes rather than discs, no mounts for a rack or fenders, and a 240 lb rider limit. It is a city bike for dry-ish days, not a year-round commuter.

If you want electric, the brand list changes

For powered folders, Lectric sells more than anyone else in the US and its XP4 at $999 is the benchmark for cheap, while Tern's Vektron is the one to buy if the budget stretches. Brompton's Electric C Line is the only option for anyone who has to carry the bike onto transit. The electric section below covers all four.

The best folding bike for commuting

Buy the Brompton C Line if your commute mixes a train with riding, because the fold is small enough to treat as luggage and fast enough to do at the platform. Buy the Dahon Mariner D8 II if you ride the whole way, since 20-inch wheels and 8 gears make a 5 to 10 mile commute genuinely comfortable for $949. If the ride is longer and faster, the Tern Verge X11 is the one.

Commuting is the question that separates folding bikes from each other, because the answer depends on which half of the journey hurts. Four things decide it:

• How often you fold it. Twice a day on a platform is very different from once a week into a car boot. Brompton wins the twice-a-day case comfortably.
• What you do with it while folded. Under a desk, between your feet on a train, or in a luggage rack? The Brompton's standing fold and casters matter here.
• How far you ride. Under three miles, any of these bikes is fine. Over five, 20-inch wheels and more gears start to earn their weight.
• Whether you need to carry anything. A Brompton front bag sits on the frame, not the bars, and a Dahon Mariner ships with a rack. A ZiZZO has no mounts at all.

Our commuting guide covers the practical side: what to wear, where to put the bike at work, and how to handle rain. If your commute is mostly train, the guide to folding bikes on trains has the transit rules city by city.

The best folding bike for the money

The Dahon Mariner D8 II at $949 is the best folding bike for the money. It comes with a rack, fenders, 8-speed Shimano gearing and 20-inch wheels, which is the full commuter package rather than a frame you then have to equip. Below it, the ZiZZO Liberté Plus at $650 is the value pick if you can live without a rack, and above it the Tern Link C8 at $925 is the cheapest way into Tern's frame quality.

Three habits make the money go further. Buy last year's colourway, since folding bike prices move with paint rather than parts. Budget $60 to $100 for tyres immediately on anything under $1,000, because that is where cheap bikes lose the most comfort. And check whether the rack and fenders are included: adding them later often costs $150 and an evening.

The one case for spending more is resale. A used Brompton typically sells for a large share of what it cost, so a $1,720 C Line that lasts fifteen years can work out cheaper per year than two $949 Dahons.

The lightest folding bikes

The Tern Verge X11 at 22.5 lb is the lightest folding bike on this list, and the ZiZZO Liberté Plus at 23 lb is within half a pound of it for a fifth of the price. The lightest Brompton is the P Line at 24.1 lb. Any of the three is a bike you can carry up two flights without stopping.

Weight is the spec that decides whether you actually use a folding bike. Around 23 to 25 lb is comfortable to carry one-handed up a flight of stairs. At 28 lb you start using both hands. Past 40 lb, which is where most electric folders live, you are choosing routes around lifts and ramps.

The weight comes out of four places. Frame material is the biggest: steel Bromptons run 24.9 to 26.1 lb, and the titanium-rear P Line drops to 24.1 lb. Wheels and tyres are next, since four 20-inch wheelsets weigh more than four 16-inch ones. Gearing costs weight too, which is why single-ring 4-speed builds are lighter than 12-speed ones. Finally, racks, fenders and kickstands add a kilo or two that nobody counts until they pick the bike up.

Our guide to lightweight folding bikes goes deeper on materials and what a sub-20 lb bike realistically costs.

The best folding bike for taking on a train

Buy a Brompton if you commute by train. The fold is 23 × 22.2 × 10.6 inches, it stands on its own casters so you can wheel it through a concourse, and it takes under 20 seconds to close. At 26.1 lb the C Line is heavier than the P Line, but it is the one to buy unless weight is your deciding factor.

Transit systems mostly care about one thing: whether the bike is folded. Folded, it is luggage on most networks in the US and Europe, and it travels free. What the rulebook does not tell you is what actually matters at 8am on a crowded platform:

• Folded size versus the space available. A cube shape slides between your feet or onto a luggage rack. A flat 31-inch-long package needs a luggage rack or an empty seat.
• Whether it rolls. Carrying 26 lb through a station is fine for a hundred metres and unpleasant for half a mile. Brompton's casters solve this; most other folders do not roll when folded.
• The stairs. Escalators and platform stairs decide whether 23 lb or 28 lb is the right answer for you.
• Peak-hour rules. Several networks restrict full-size bikes at rush hour but allow folders at any time. Check your local rules before buying.

If you need power as well, the Brompton Electric C Line folds to the same footprint and the battery lifts off, which brings it to 31.4 lb for the carry. Nothing else electric folds small enough to treat as ordinary luggage.

City-by-city transit rules, plus what to do when a conductor disagrees with you, are in our folding bike on the train guide.

The best electric folding bike

Buy the Tern Vektron S10 if you want to ride an electric folder, with a Bosch mid-drive, 65 Nm of torque and 34 to 68 miles of assisted range for $3,549. Buy the Brompton Electric C Line if you have to carry it onto trains, because it is the only powered folder that folds like a normal Brompton. On a budget the Lectric XP4 at $999 is the cheapest one worth owning, and the Dahon K-One at $1,699 is the middle ground.

Weight is the whole story

A motor, a battery and a stronger frame add 15 to 45 lb. The Lectric XP4 weighs 69 lb with its battery, which is more than two sacks of shopping. The Vektron is 48.7 lb. The Brompton Electric C Line is 39.5 lb, and 31.4 lb once you unclip the battery and leave it at your desk.

Decide this before anything else: are you lifting the bike, or rolling it? If you are lifting it up stairs every day, only the Brompton makes sense. If it lives in a garage and rides on roads, the weight stops mattering after the first week and the cheaper, heavier bikes become the sensible buy.

Hub motor or mid-drive

Budget electric folders use a rear hub motor, which is quiet and simple and pushes you along on the flat but struggles on long climbs. Mid-drive systems like the Bosch unit on the Vektron drive through the gears, so they climb properly and feel more like riding a bike. If your route has real hills, pay for the mid-drive.

Range numbers are optimistic

Manufacturer range figures assume a light rider, low assist and flat ground. Expect roughly two thirds of the quoted number in real commuting with a bag, in cold weather, with assist turned up. The Vektron's 34 to 68 mile band is the most realistic of the four here because it is quoted as a range rather than a single best case.

Taking an electric folder on transit

Most operators treat a folded e-folder as luggage, but some set weight limits on carried bags, and 69 lb will fail those limits. Check before you buy, and consider whether you can lift the folded bike onto a rack. The Brompton Electric and the Vektron are the two that fit most published limits.

Motor types, battery care, legal classes and maintenance are covered in our guide to electric folding bikes.

Cheaper alternatives to a Brompton

The Dahon Mariner D8 II at $949 is the best cheaper alternative to a Brompton for most riders: it costs $771 less than the $1,720 C Line and rides better on rough roads. If you want the smallest possible spend, the ZiZZO Liberté Plus at $650 does the job. If the fold itself is what you want, buy a used Brompton or the $1,300 A Line rather than a clone.

• Dahon Mariner D8 II, $949. 27.9 lb, 20-inch wheels, 8-speed Shimano, rack and fenders included. Bigger fold, better ride, half the price.
• Tern Link C8, $925. 28.2 lb, 1×8 gearing, stiffer frame than the Dahon and the same 10-second fold as the rest of the Tern range.
• ZiZZO Liberté Plus, $650. 23 lb and 20-inch wheels. Lighter than either of the two above, but V-brakes and no rack mounts.
• Dahon SUV D6, $599. 29.1 lb, 6 gears, rack and fenders. The cheapest complete commuter here.
• Brompton A Line, $1,300. Not cheap, but it is a real Brompton fold at $420 less than the C Line, with three hub gears and a 24.9 lb steel frame.

What you give up by leaving Brompton is mostly the fold, not the riding. A Dahon takes about the same time to fold but ends up roughly a third bigger, so it will not fit between your feet on a rush-hour train and it does not roll when folded. You also give up Brompton's parts supply and resale, which is why used Bromptons hold value in a way that used Dahons do not.

What you gain is everything else: bigger wheels, more gears for the money, a rack and fenders as standard, and brakes that are easier to service. If you fold twice a day onto a train, save for the Brompton. If you fold twice a week into a car, the Dahon is the better bike.

Brompton or Dahon: which should you buy?

Buy the Brompton if you fold and carry the bike several times a day. Buy the Dahon if you mostly ride it and want the best bike per dollar. The Brompton C Line starts at $1,720 and folds to 23 × 22.2 × 10.6 inches; the Dahon Mariner D8 II is $949, rides better on 20-inch wheels, and folds to 32.7 × 13.8 × 26.4 inches.

For most buyers the answer is Dahon. If you are buying one bike for a five-mile commute and it sleeps in a hallway, the extra $771 buys nothing you will notice. The Brompton earns its price in the specific case where the folded bike has to behave like a suitcase: trains, buses, offices, small flats, and a car boot you also need for groceries.

The full breakdown, including build quality and ownership costs, is in our Brompton vs Dahon comparison.

The picks in detail

Brompton C Line

Best overallBrompton

from $1,72026.1 lb16" wheels4 or 12Folds to 23 × 22.2 × 10.6 in

The C Line is the folding bike everything else gets compared to. The rear wheel tucks under the frame, so the finished package is roughly the size of a large suitcase and stands on its own rollers. It takes under 20 seconds to fold, it fits under a desk or in a luggage rack, and the steel frame is built to be serviced for decades. The trade is price and ride: 16-inch wheels need more attention on broken pavement than a 20-inch folder.

What we like

• Smallest folded package of any bike at this price
• Rolls on its own casters when folded
• Front luggage block carries weight on the frame
• Holds resale value better than any other folder

Watch out for

• Starts at $1,720
• 16-inch wheels are firm on rough roads
• Steel frame puts it at 26 lb

Dahon Mariner D8 II

Best valueDahon

$94927.9 lb20" wheels8-speedFolds to 32.7 × 13.8 × 26.4 in

This is where most buyers should start. Twenty-inch wheels and an 8-speed Shimano drivetrain make it a real commuter rather than a toy, and Dahon ships it with fenders and a MIK rear rack, which many rivals charge extra for. The frame is aluminium with stainless hardware throughout, so wet winters and coastal air do not eat it. It is heavier and folds bigger than a Brompton, and it costs half as much.

What we like

• Complete bike out of the box: rack, fenders, 8 gears
• 20-inch wheels handle potholes and gravel paths
• 231 lb rider limit and a 4'7" to 6'2" fit range
• Under $1,000

Watch out for

• 27.9 lb is a lot to carry up stairs
• Folded footprint is roughly a third bigger than a Brompton's
• V-brakes, not discs

Tern Verge X11

Best ride and lightestTern

$2,99922.5 lb451 (20" class) wheels11-speedFolds to 15 × 31.5 × 29.1 in

The Verge X11 is the fastest folder here and the lightest bike on this list. A hydroformed aluminium frame, carbon fork and SRAM 1×11 drivetrain with hydraulic disc brakes make it feel like a small road bike, and at 22.5 lb it is the one you can carry up four flights without resenting it. The fold is flat rather than cube-like, so it slides into a car boot or a cupboard more easily than it fits a train luggage rack.

What we like

• 22.5 lb, the lightest bike on this page
• SRAM X1 11-speed gearing with a wide 10-42T cassette
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• Folds in about 10 seconds

Watch out for

• $2,999
• Flat fold is awkward on a packed train
• Sport gearing and narrow tyres are not for loaded touring

ZiZZO Liberté Plus

Best under $700ZiZZO

$65023 lb20" wheels8-speedFolds to 27 × 31 × 14 in

Nothing else at this price weighs 23 lb. The Liberté Plus uses an aluminium frame and fork, quick-release wheels and a Shimano Altus 8-speed drivetrain, and it weighs less than most folders costing twice as much. The compromises are obvious once you look: V-brakes, no rack or fender mounts, and a fold that is quick but bulky. For a short city commute or a bike that lives in a hallway, it is hard to argue with.

What we like

• 23 lb at $650
• Shimano 8-speed with a 48T narrow-wide chainring
• Fits riders from 4'8" to 6'3"
• Folds in three steps without tools

Watch out for

• V-brakes
• No rack or fender mounts
• 240 lb rider limit
• Stock tyres are the first thing to upgrade

Tern Vektron S10

Best electricTern

$3,54948.7 lb20" wheels10-speedFolds to 15.7 × 33.7 × 26.6 in

The Vektron is the electric folder to buy if you plan to ride it rather than carry it. A Bosch Performance motor with 65 Nm of torque and a 400 Wh battery gives 34 to 68 miles of assisted range, and the frame takes a child seat on the Atlas rack. It is a serious machine at 48.7 lb, which is fine on a ramp and miserable on a staircase.

What we like

• Bosch mid-drive with 65 Nm of torque
• 34 to 68 miles of real assisted range
• Magura hydraulic disc brakes and 10-speed Deore drivetrain
• Rack rated to 27 kg, child-seat compatible

Watch out for

• 48.7 lb
• $3,549
• Folded package is the largest here

Brompton Electric C Line

Best electric for transitBrompton

$4,70039.5 lb16" wheels4-speedFolds to 23 × 22.2 × 10.6 in

The only e-folder here that folds as small as a normal Brompton and rolls when folded. The 250 W rear hub motor and detachable battery give up to 56 miles of assist, and the battery lifts out to be charged at your desk, which brings the bike down to 31.4 lb for carrying. Expensive, but it solves the problem no other electric folder solves: getting a powered bike onto a train without a struggle.

What we like

• Same compact fold as a non-electric Brompton
• Battery detaches: 31.4 lb without it
• Up to 56 miles of assist
• Rolls on casters through stations

Watch out for

• $4,700
• 4 gears only
• Small wheels plus motor weight is a firm ride